1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments for fastening body tissue and, more particularly, to a powered surgical instrument having a drive gear configured to be movable to affect rotation, articulation and actuation of the instrument.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical devices wherein tissue is first grasped or clamped between opposing jaw structure and then joined by surgical fasteners are well known in the art. In some instruments, a knife is provided to cut the tissue which has been joined by the fasteners. The fasteners typically include surgical staples and two part polymeric fasteners.
Instruments for this purpose may include two elongated members which are respectively used to capture or clamp tissue. Typically, one of the members carries a staple cartridge that houses a plurality of staples arranged in rows while the other member has an anvil that defines a surface for forming the staple legs as the staples are driven from the staple cartridge. Several instruments include clamps, handles and/or knobs to affect actuation along with rotation and articulation of an end effector. Such surgical instruments can require the user to exert a significant force in operating the handles, knobs, etc., and require more than one hand to operate the instrument.
Surgical instruments with actuators that require less force to operate are desired. In addition, surgical instruments which perform multiple functions with one-handed operation are also desired.